Selected NSF Opportunities for International Collaboration
Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD)
The goal of BREAD is to support innovative basic scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. Proposals must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. Activities in two focus areas will be supported: (1) Developing High Throughput, Low Cost Phenotyping Tools and Devices to facilitate assessment of field-based phenotypes, especially for root and tuber crops (PHENO), and (2) Advancing Basic Research in Crop Plants Relevant to Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries (ABRDC) to develop critically needed sequence and functional genomics resources to enable basic and applied research in crop plants important for smallholder agriculture.
Type of Research: Basic and applied research
International Research Network Connections (IRNC)
The International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program supports high-performance network connectivity required by international science and engineering research and education collaborations involving the NSF research community. NSF expects to make 1-2 awards to link U.S. research networks with peer networks in Europe and Africa and leverage existing international network connectivity. High-performance network connections funded by this program are intended to support science and engineering research and education applications, and preference will be given to solutions that provide the best economy of scale and demonstrate the ability to support the largest communities of interest with the broadest services.
Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER)
Description: Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) is a USAID-funded competitive grants program that provides an opportunity to support scientists in developing countries who work with NSF, NASA, NIH, Smithsonian Institution, USDA, and USGS funded principal investigators (PIs) at U.S. institutions. PEER is intended to build scientific capacity and empower researchers in developing countries to use science, technology, innovation, and partnerships to address local and global development challenges. PEER funding may be used to train students and faculty, equip laboratories and field stations, and fund research, building scientific networks to address global challenges. PEER proposals will be accepted from researchers in eligible developing countries. Areas in which both NSF and USAID have strong mutual interests include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Food security topics such as agricultural development, fisheries, and plant genomics
- Climate change impacts such as water sustainability, hydrology, ocean acidification, climate process and modeling, and environmental engineering
- Other development topics including disaster mitigation, biodiversity, water, and renewable energy
Partnerships for International Research & Education (PIRE)
OISE-managed flagship research program. Frontier research that leverages complementary expertise of all partners. The program offers extensive overseas research opportunities for U.S. students/early career researchers
- 5 year awards; average award $4.5M
- ~40 active awards across all NSF disciplines
- Competition every 2-3 years
- Next competition expected FY2019-20
- Timing, contents TBD
International Research Experience for Students (IRES)
OISE program to develop a globally engaged U.S. science and engineering workforce. It offers three tracks:
- Faculty-led student cohorts conducting focused research overseas
- Target: U.S. Graduate Students and/or Undergraduates
- Advanced studies institutes for graduate students
- Target: U.S. Graduate Students
- Institutional grants for professional societies and their university partners for international research-related professional development
- Target: U.S. Graduate Students
New Program Announcement: NSF 18-505. Deadlines in late Jan-early Feb 2018. Students apply to IRES awardees (not to NSF)
International Network-to-Network Collaboration
Description: Topic ideas with potential to accelerate discovery and advance research in areas where better international connection could:
- Leverage expertise, data, facilities, other resources
- Strengthen U.S. research community
- Offer mutual benefit
Input to inform planning, including potential future programs or program emphases.
Dear Colleague Letter NSF 17-131
Call for Community Input on Topic Ideas to Accelerate Research through International Network-to-Network Collaboration
Deadline: Nov 30, 2017. Submission through Survey Monkey. See DCL
International Research Experience for Undergraduates
Description: This program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in any areas of research NSF funds. Two Mechanisms:
- REU Sites – independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects. May include international dimension
- REU Supplements – additional funding added to an active NSF award to support student research. May include international dimension. Students must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or permanent residents of the U.S.
Students apply to REU Sites or to NSF-funded investigators (not directly to NSF)